Method of venting smokes, gases, and the like to the outside, and means therefor



Dec. 4, 1962 A. LE QUEC 3,066,595

METHOD OF VENTING SMOKES, GASES, AND THE LIKE TO THE OUTSIDE, AND MEANS THEREFOR Filed July 1. 1960 I'm/emf? A'mire Le Quec,

BY M g m Aitwrmy:

Patented Dec. 4, 19552 tine 3066,595 MnTHQD {31F VENTERIG SMQKES, GASES, AND Til-E Lllill TO THE OUTSEE, AND MEANS TEEREFQR Andre Le Qnec, Saint-Nazaire, France, assignor to Chantiers De LAtlantique (Penhoet-Loire), Paris, France, a corporation Filed .iuly 1, 196%, See. No. 40,379 Claims priority, application France Get. 14, 1959 9 (Ilaims. (Cl. 98--=60) The present invention relates essentially to a method of venting smokes, combustion gases and the like to the outside or to the atmosphere.

It is the chief object of this method to prevent the smokes or combustion gases from being beaten down toward the upper works of ships, trains and other vehicles, and also toward understructures of buildings and other fixed installations.

It is known that if the combustion gases and smokes from the power unit of a ship are exhausted through chimneys designed carelessly, the general trend of the air fiow which is due to the influence of the wind and to the ship velocity, around the superstructures of the ship and the chimney, will nearly always cause the combustion gases and smokes to be beaten down toward the ship, and it is evident that this implies many inconveniences as far as the ship maintenance and the passengers comfort are concerned.

It is also known that if a chimney of the kind referred to is so designed as to comprise streamlined horizontal sections meeting adequate aspect ratio conditions the air flow around this contour will comprise a marginal vortexas long as the incidence of the relative wind remains moderate-and that the combustion gases and smokes released in the direction in which this marginal vortex is formed are carried along to a. relatively great distance without being beaten down toward the ship.

However, this type of chimney is characterized by a drawback for when the angle of incidence of the relative wind directed toward the chimney becomes appreciable (as a rule, higher than about 25) the advantage resulting from the flow in the marginal vortex is destroyed and the flow of the filaments of air-current around the chimney will again and rapidly cause the gases and smokes to be beaten down toward the ship.

It is the object of the method constituting the subject-matter of this invention to avoid the inconvenience set forth hereinabove, this method being remarkable notably in that the smokes or gases to be exhausted are vented to the atmosphere in close proximity of the vortices created by a member having the shape of a wing or alieron disposed in a substantially horizontal position in the lee of the wind.

In practice said smokes, gases or the like are exhausted through one or more of these fiat'sectioned ducts having the shape of wings or ailerons.

It will be seen that due to the horizontal or flat position of these wings in the lee of the winds the latter will constantly strike the airfoil section with a zero or very moderate angle of incidence, so that the risks of creating vortices ahead of the trailing edges or at the wing tips (where the vortices take place) are practically null, so that the detrimental beating down of the smokes or gases is safely avoided.

A particularly efiicient form of embodiment of the invention consists in exhausting the combustion gases and smokes from the upper end of a vertical duct of sufiicient height by means of two horizontal branch ducts extending outwardly and symmetrically in relation to the center line of the ship, each branch duct being of airfoil section,

of these horizontal ducts which are remote from the aforesaid center line, that is, in the zone where the vortices are formed.

This invention is also concerned with a device for exhausting smokes and combustion gases and the like with a view to prevent them from being beaten down, according to the method broadly set forth hereinabove, this device being remarkable notably in that it consists of one or more fiat members having the shape of wings, ailerons or like airfoil elements, disposed in a substantially horizontal position in the lee of the wind, the smokes, gases or the like being vented to the outside within or in close proximity of the vortices created by said wing or wings.

According to a typical form of embodiment of the invention, the two aforesaid wings are disposed laterally and symmetrically on either side of a main central duct constituting a chimney-like structure.

In this last case the gases, smokes or the like circulate preferably along fiat-sectioned ducts formed within the airfoil section of these wings. These substantially hori zontal ducts may, notably in the case of a ship, extend either at right angles to the plane of symmetry of the ship, or obliquely to this plane according to the specific path followed by the air flow on the ship and its superstructures or upper works, this path varying as a function of the ship design and speed.

Accessorily, a main central duct of this character may be provided with inner partitions in order to separate the gas and smoke circulations issuing from diiferent apparatus. According to a typical form of embodiment, these flows may take place in a single or common duct receiving at its inlet end the gases and smokes issuing from difierent apparatus.

The aforesaid horizontal ducts may also be provided with shutter or valve means for regulating the gaseous flow therethrough, for example in the form of dampers, so that according to circumstances the gaseous flow may be exhausted either through only one end aperture of the horizontal ducts (the one lying leeward) or through both end apertures of these ducts.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, the invention resides in the novel arrangement and combination of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent rom the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view showing a chimney provided with air foil-sectioned wings or ailerons according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a rear view of the same chimney, as seen in the direction of the arrow F of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 3 and 4 are views similar to FIGURES 1 and 2 but showing in dotted lines the arrangement of the flues within the chimney and wings, and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view from above the chimney shown in FIGURES l to 4.

In the form of embodiment illustrated by way of example in FIGURES l and 2, a chimney, for example on a ship, comprises according to this invention a main vertical central body 1 of streamlined cross-section, for example as shown at 2 in FIGURE 5. This main body may be disposed in the conventional manner, that is, vertically in the axis of symmetry P, P of the ship, and comprises at its upper portion, on either side of this plane of symmetry, a pair of wings or ailerons 3, 3 disposed substantially horizontally in the lee of the winds. The exhaust ducts 4 for the smokes and gases rising in the main body 11 open with their upper ends at 5 into a pair of flat-sectioned ducts 6, s also disposed in a substantially horizontal position (FEGURE 3) formed in the airfoil section of these wings 3, 3. These ducts 6, 6 open in turn into the atmosphere at the wing tips '7, 7'. These wing tips may comprise a plurality of exit ends or, as shown in FIGURE 3, a single exhaust opening 8 of elongated configuration having substantially the same shape as the wing tip airfoil sections.

With this arrangement it is obvious that the gases and smokes are vented to the atmosphere in the direction of the vorticcs created by the wings 35, 3 and are reiected in a substantially horizontal plane relatively far from the plane of symmetry P, P of the ship, as shown by the arrows f.

Although the exhaust ducts such as 6 may also be placed externally of airfoil-sectioned wing-like members such as 3, 3' without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is advantageous to dispose them internally of these wings, the latter forming in combination with the outer casing of the main body 1, a streamlined fairing promoting considerablby the laminar flow of the wing upstream of the gas and smoke exhaust orifices.

Under these conditions it will be seen that the provision of two wings such as 3, 3 makes it possible, according to the direction of the wind, to use only one of the outlet orifices at a time, that is, the one disposed leeward. Thus, for example, if the wind blows in the direction of the arrow V, the smoke ducts opening into the side duct 6' will be closed momentarily so that only the outlet orifice formed at the tip 7 of wing 3 will be used. To this end, for example, controllable fiap shutter means such as shown at 9 on FXGURE 4 may be provided.

From the basic principle set forth hereinabove, many different wing shapes 3, 3 may be designed in combination with certain arrangements now conventional in aircraft construction. Thus, the wings 3, 3 may be formed with a negative angular position in the horizontal plane in order to cause the air filaments to be deflected upward, downstream of the trailing edge. Preferably, wings having a moderate aspect ratio of the order of 1:1 will be used. Finally, the wings 3, 3 may be somewhat tilted or swept back.

These wings 3, 3 may have any suitable airfoil or like section, for example a biconvex, symmetric or asymmetric section, a plane-convex section, etc. Moreover, their tips 7, 7' may be provided with any suitable means such as slots, rough surfaces, etc. for promoting the formation of vortices.

Finally, it is also possible, according to cases, to use a single streamlined member having the shape of a horizontal wing extending symmetrically on either side of the central body of the chimney.

Moreover, a simple exhaust device may be made from one or a plurality of wing-shaped, substantially horizontal members without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, these members being associated or not with a streamlined central body.

Of course, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the form of embodiment illustrated and described by way of example, as many modifications and variations may be brought thereto without departing from the basic principles set forth hereinabove.

What I claim is:

l. A device for preventing the smoke issuing from a 4 smoke exhausing chimney stack on stationary plants, ships and rolling vehicles from being blown down and beaten down backwards by the relative Wind, comprising a main hollow body forming the outer skin of said chimney and made of a substantially upright elongated tubular casing closed at its top end and forming a fairing, at least one substantially vertical flue means surrounded by and contained in said fairing and ending at its upper part at some distance below the closed top end of sai fairing, at least one substantially fiat and horizontal cantilever fin member projecting like an aircraft wing laterally from said fairing at the upper part thereof, and secured thereto, said fin member having a chordwise cross-section of substantially aerofoil-shaped contour and ended by a tip in the spanwise direction away from said body, said tip being adapted to induce vortices thereabout under the action of the relative wind, discharge duct means communicating with said iiue means which open therein and extending substantiaily spanwise along said fin member and ended by outlet orifice means opening to the outside in the vicinity of said tip substantially into the region of said vortices.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said discharge duct means consist of at least one conduit incorporated within the thickness of said fin member and extending spanwise thereof to open to the outside through the edge of said tip of said fin member.

3. A device according to claim 2 comprising a pair of said fin members symmetrically projecting from two opposite sides of said fairing.

4. A device according to claim 3 wherein control means selected from the group including shutters, valves, dampers, flaps are provided between said flue means and said discharge ducts to allow selective shutting off any windward one of said ducts according to the direction of the relative wind.

5. A device according to claim 3 wherein said pair of fin members exhibits a sweep back.

6. A device according to claim 3 wherein said pair of fin members exhibits a negative rigging angle of incidence.

7. A device according to claim 3 wherein said pair of fin members exhibits a dihedral.

8. A device according to claim 3, wherein said fin member has a moderate aspect ratio of the order of l.

9. In a funnel on board ships, a device according to claim 4 wherein said fairing is substantially in the form of an upstanding aircraft wing parallel to the longitudinal axis of said ship and of streamlined biconvex symmetrical horizontal cross-sectional contour, said pair of fin members being symmetrically located with respect to the vertical plane of symmetry of said fairing and projecting with a rearward sweep back from both sides thereof, and said flue means running at their upper ends into at least one uptake-like vertical manifold which divides into a pair of said substantially discharge ducts forming fiat sectioned branch conduits integral within each of said fin members respectively.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 8,998 Eames June 8, 1852 2,659,293 Valensi Nov. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,229,210 France Mar. 21, 1960 

